The Road to Serfdom

The Road to Serfdom is a book by Friedrich Hayek that was credited with turning away from socialism the political thinking of an entire generation.[1] Economists Bruce Caldwell and Mankiw call it Hayek's "most well-known book,"[1][2] as does Britannica's recent "Notable Economists" text of 2013 [3]

Contents

Hayek's Intentions

Hayek's preface to the original edition states that the theses in his book were not interested in character, but "derived from ultimate values."[4]

Reception of the book

Bruce Caldwell suggests that while the book was read by a large number of people, it was often not read carefully.[5] Herman Finer characterised the book as anti-democratic and even "Hitlerian" in character.[6] On the other hand, the book inspired Antony Fisher, the founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs, who found it inspirational in his work for economic liberty.[7]